POLITICS & POLICY

Iran said Friday it would launch a series of "new and advanced" centrifuges in response to a resolution adopted by the UN nuclear watchdog that censures Tehran for what the agency called lack of cooperation.

Since her first brush with fame a decade ago, Hong Kong-born conductor Elim Chan has fought a "long-term battle" against tired assumptions about herself, music and how orchestras should be run.

Russia on Thursday fired an experimental missile at Ukraine in a clear warning of its capabilities, officials from Western governments said, even as they pushed back against Ukrainian claims of a more provocative action by Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the conflict in Ukraine had characteristics of a "global" war and did not rule out strikes on Western countries.

Kyiv on Thursday accused Russia of launching a non-nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile at Ukraine in what would mark the first ever use of the weapon in combat and a sharp escalation of the conflict.

Australia is among the vanguard of nations trying to clean up social media, and the proposed age limit would be among the world's strictest measures aimed at children. Details about how social media companies are expected to enforce the ban remain unclear.

Dozens of people were killed or unaccounted for after Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip, a hospital director and the civil defence agency said Thursday.

At a bear sanctuary in the heart of Romania's Carpathians, several cubs believed to have been orphaned have just arrived.

If you've ever binge-watched an entire season of a K-drama like "Squid Game" or "Crash Landing On You", one Korean-American expert has good news: it's likely improved your mental health.

Russia on Wednesday accused the US of prolonging the "war in Ukraine" by stepping up weapons deliveries to Kyiv ahead of Donald Trump's return to the White House.

Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he was appointing Mehmet Oz, a former surgeon and TV celebrity known as "Dr. Oz," to lead the United States' massive public health insurance program.

US envoy Amos Hochstein was in Lebanon Wednesday, seeking to hammer out a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hezbollah, as the militant group battled Israeli troops in the south of the country.

The UN Security Council is expected to vote Wednesday on another draft resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza in its latest attempt to exert pressure to end the war.

Gunshots, screams, eerie laughter: South Korea's border island Ganghwa is being bombarded nightly with blood-curdling sounds, part of a new campaign by the nuclear-armed North that is driving residents to despair.

The black and white silent movie flickered into life as the pianist started up with a dramatic flourish.

Gisele Pelicot, the French woman drugged by her ex-husband so she could be raped and sexually abused by him and dozens of strangers, said on Tuesday that it was time for a "macho" society to change its attitude on rape.

Donald Trump's allies voiced vehement criticism Monday of President Joe Biden's decision to let Ukraine use US-supplied long-range missiles for attacks inside Russia, accusing him of a dangerous escalation.

Russia said Tuesday that Ukraine had fired US-supplied long-range missiles into its territory for the first time since Washington authorised such strikes as President Vladimir Putin issued a nuclear threat on the 1,000th day of the war.

Hong Kong's largest national security trial came to an end on Tuesday with 45 pro-democracy figures jailed for holding an informal election over four years ago.

US special envoy Amos Hochstein arrived in the Lebanese capital on Tuesday for talks with officials on a truce plan, which Lebanon has largely endorsed, to halt the Israel-Hezbollah war.

As the massive trial of the "Hong Kong 47" democracy campaigners ended on Tuesday, an acquitted member of the group watched from the sidelines and felt the weight of his freedom upon him.

On a mountain slope in south Lebanon, agricultural worker Assaad al-Taqi is busy picking olives, undeterred by the roar of Israeli warplanes overhead.

Hong Kong's largest national security trial will draw to a close on Tuesday, with dozens of the city's most prominent democracy campaigners set to be sentenced for subversion, a charge that can carry up to life imprisonment.

US President-elect Donald Trump tapped Republican Brendan Carr, an Elon Musk-backed critic of big tech, to lead the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), calling him a "warrior for Free Speech" in a statement on Sunday.

US and Philippine defence chiefs signed an agreement Monday on sharing classified military information and technology, as the long-time treaty allies deepen cooperation in a bid to counter Chinese influence in the region.

The Labor government had intended to limit the number of new international students admitted to universities to 145,000, other higher education institutions to 30,000, and vocational education and training to 95,000.

Floodwaters hit hundreds of houses in the northern Philippines on Monday after water released from a dam following Typhoon Man-yi caused a major river to break its banks.

India's capital New Delhi switched schools to online classes Monday until further notice as worsening toxic smog surged past 60 times the World Health Organization's recommended daily maximum.

An Indigenous lawmaker was censured by Australia's parliament Monday for heckling King Charles about the legacy of European settlement during his October visit to Canberra.